


Mom's Made Fullmetal 2020: A Collection of One-Shots

by RealityBreakGirl



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M, Mom's Made Fullmetal 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:13:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24363361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RealityBreakGirl/pseuds/RealityBreakGirl
Summary: The time has come again to explore the theme of motherhood in FMA. Featuring stories on Sheska, Mama Armstrong, Riza Hawkeye, Olivier Armstrong, Mama Havoc, Pinako Rockbell, and Sheska's mother.
Relationships: Kain Fuery/Sciezka | Sheska, Olivier Mira Armstrong/Buccaneer, Sheskain
Comments: 8
Kudos: 28
Collections: Moms Made Fullmetal Week 2020





	1. Day 1:  Family/Love/Baby-Talk

**Mom’s Made Fullmetal Week 2020 Day 1**  
**Word Count:** 1983  
**Author:** KatieAlly/RealityBreakGirl  
**Rating:** G  
**Characters:** Sheska, Kain Fuery, fan child  
**Prompt:** Family or Love or Baby-talk  
**Summary:** A quick snapshot into Sheska’s reaction to her first child, realizing the love and family that come with it, and expressing it to her baby.

* * *

**Family/Love/Baby-Talk**

“You’re almost there, honey! Come on!”

“Just one more big push, Mrs. Fuery. Its almost out.”

Sheska thrust her head back into the pillow, and braced her back against the bed, even as her feet pushed against the stirrups they were in. She was sweating, exhausted, in pain, and tired. She wasn’t sure how long she had been in here, in the process of birthing this baby, but it felt like days. Her energy was flagging, and she felt like she was giving every single bit of her energy and life to this. Kain was holding onto her hand, letting her squeeze it, offering reassurances and comforts, and generally being there for her during this process.

She let out another cry of pain and exertion as she gave one more big push, feeling something shift, something move, something tear, and then—

“It’s out!”

She collapsed back onto the bed then, exhausted. Kain let go of her hand after giving it a squeeze, eager to see their child.

“Congratulations. It’s a girl. Would you like to cut the cord, Dad?”

Sheska tuned out the world around her as she struggled to catch her breath. A girl. They had a baby girl! She wanted to see her, she wanted to hold her, she wanted to make sure that she was healthy and whole. She—

She felt another contraction. For a moment she panicked. Could this be an unknown twin thing? Like she read about in books and stories where the mother didn’t know she was having twins and had another baby? Sheska wasn’t sure she could go through another birthing process right now!

“Relax, Mrs. Fuery. It’s just the afterbirth. This shouldn’t take long.”

Apparently, she was easy to read to these doctors and nurses, and one soothed her fears right away. Fortunately, she was correct, and it didn’t take long for that process to finish. In that time, though, the nurses had gotten her daughter cleaned up, and had placed her, wrapped in a soft pink blanket, into Kain’s arms. He was looking down at their child with a look of awe and wonder and outright love like she had never seen him have before.

“Kain,” her voice was weak, rough, but it was enough to get his attention. “I want to see her.”

He crossed to her in mere seconds and was holding out the small pink bundle to her. Though weak and shaky from the birth, she held tightly onto their daughter and looked down at her. She hadn’t thought that she’d be able to love the child more then she had when it was growing within her, but as she looked down at their daughter, she realized how wrong that was.

A sense of love like she had never experienced before swept through her, growing and overwhelming Sheska. She felt herself tearing up as she cradled her baby close to her in exhausted, shaky arms, and felt Kain’s arms come around her to help her support their daughter. Pale skin, a slight dusting of dark hair, rosy lips, and the smallest little fingers she had ever seen.

She was beautiful.

Sheska felt Kain kiss her forehead, and she cried harder, overwhelmed by the love she was feeling, of the little family that they were, and she pressed her own kiss to the crown of her daughter’s head. “You are so loved by us,” she whispered out. “So very loved by your mom and dad.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Fuery? We need to take your daughter now,” a nurse interrupted the tender moment with a gentle voice. “We’ll give her a good cleaning and check her over. And we need to tend to Mrs. Fuery as well.”

The nurse reached down and gently took her daughter from her arms, which Sheska didn’t mind so much. Her arms were trembling, and she was feeling so very exhausted. The world around her seemed to be in a bit of a blur, and she tuned out the nurse’s words. She was still breathing hard, and was she supposed to feel this weak? The doctor was saying something now, but she let Kain handle it, not sure she could stay awake much longer anyway. There was the familiar touch of her husband, words she didn’t catch, and then a flurry of nurses and the doctor around her. She couldn’t stay awake any longer, and felt the exhaustion catching up to her, her last thought that they sure seemed to be making a fuss.

When she woke again, she was in a hospital room, on a very soft bed, with IVs running into arms. She couldn’t tell what time it was, or what was in those IVs without her glasses, but her hands automatically went to her stomach. Her much flatter stomach. And while she knew that she had given birth and had a baby girl, that made it more real to her sleep addled mind and she jerked awake.

“My baby. I want my baby. I want to see my daughter.”

Her words seemed to jolt awake a figure who was sleeping in the chair next to her bed. “Sheska?”

It was Kain. She couldn’t see him well without her glasses, but she knew his voice. “I want my daughter.” She was already moving, wincing at the pain that brought on, but determined to go find her baby.

Kain had other plans, shooting up to keep her in bed. “No, no, Sheska, stay in bed. I’ll call for a nurse, alright? They’ll bring her to us.” He handed her glasses to her, even as he made sure that she was laying back down. “Nurse!” he called out. “Nurse!”

A nurse came into the room within moments, quicker than Sheska expected, and seemed to look at her a little surprised. “Mrs. Fuery! Well, we didn’t expect you to be moving around yet.”

“I want my baby,” she said again, her voice firm, pushing. “I want my daughter.”

The nurse nodded as if understanding. “Of course. Let your husband get you back settled in bed, and I’ll go see about having her brought to you.”

For a moment, Sheska’s quiet stubbornness reared its head, and she didn’t want to do what this nurse said, she wanted to get up and find her child! But it only lasted a second, Kain’s gentle pressure to get her to lay down again and feeling her own weakness overruling it. “Fine.” She said reluctantly.

The nurse smiled at her, as if she were expecting this, and left the room. Sheska sighed, and finally looked around the room—and blinked in surprise. “Kain? What’s all of this?”

There were gifts, baskets, flowers, and balloons piled in one corner of the room, and looking like it had taken some very creative stacking to keep them contained. Some looked simple, some more extravagant, but they were there, nonetheless.

“Oh—those have all been brought by, by everyone,” he said, keeping a hold of her hands, and brushing her hair back. They’re all excited about the baby, and worried about you. They guys already took one load back to the apartment, and Hawkeye said that she and Gracia would try to get things set up for us.”

“Oh. Wait—worried about me? And why would they try to get things set up for us?”

She watched curiously as worry darkened her husband’s face, and he held her hand tighter. “The doctors said that the birth was really hard on you. They sent me out pretty quickly after our daughter was born. They said that you were really weak after it. They’ve giving you some blood to help, and they want to keep you here a week just to make sure that everything is alright.”

“Oh.” She took a minute to process that. “Hey, well, it’s alright. I’m still here, okay?”

Kain gave her a shaky smile. “Yeah. You are. And like I said, everyone was really worried. They wanted to see you, but you were sleeping and the doctors said not to disturb you. That was about a day ago. I’m sure in the morning we’ll have more people trying to drop by. In the meantime, though, they were way too eager to help, so I sent them to our home. They want you and the baby to have the best homecoming you can.”

The door opened then, and a small, warmed cart was wheeled in. Kain eagerly reached in it as soon as it stopped and pulled out the bundle that was their daughter. He held her tightly for a moment before passing her over to Sheska, who looked down at her with all that love and awe again.

“She should be getting hungry soon,” the nurse said. “Here, let me show you how to feed her.”

Within minutes Sheska was nursing her daughter, Kain looking at both of them in wonder, and Sheska looking at the overflowing pile of gifts in the room. She looked back down at the baby girl, and gently ran a hand over her head. “I was wrong earlier,” she said to her. “You’re not just loved by your mom and dad. It turns out, you’ve got an even bigger family that loves you too.” She bent her head down to kiss her daughter.

The love of their friends—their family—was overwhelming to her, and it remained so when she returned to there apartment the next week. She found herself in the gliding rocking chair—a gift from the investigations unit—holding their daughter to her again as she rocked her after feeding her. The baby looked up at her with eyes that were still blue, taking in everything that she could around her.

“My sweet girl,” Sheska was cooing. “My sweet Marcelina, my little Marcy. I love you. I love you and I always will. And your daddy loves you. He loves you and he always will. And you have so many aunts and uncles that love you too—much more then I ever thought possible, did you know that? Oh yes, there’s Uncle Vato, who brought you some wonderful books, and Uncle Jean who brought you the softest bear I’ve ever seen. Uncle Breda looked like he was afraid he was going to break you when he held you, but he promised to protect you. Uncle Roy was overjoyed to hold you, and he brought some very nice clothes for you. Aunt Riza was a natural and gave you this blanket that she made herself. And Aunt Rebecca gave mommy some stuff to help relax her after she stops nursing you.”

She smiled, thinking of the bottle of whisky Rebecca Catalina had given her. Part of it was gone as cups had been passed out in congratulations, although Sheska herself didn’t take part.

“And there’s Uncle Denny who helped put together all your furniture, and Aunt Maria who cooked some good meals for Mommy and Daddy. Aunt Gracia got all of your things organized for Mommy and Daddy, and cousin Elysia made you art for your wall. And then all of your Armstrong Aunts and Uncles bought all this nice furniture for you, and Uncle Alex said something about setting up a fund for your education. And your grandma and grandpa are on their way here now to see you and love on you.”

Sheska sighed and smiled. “Do you know how much you’re loved baby girl? Do you realize how big of a family you have? I didn’t know that people could be like this. It was just my mother and me when I was little. She would have loved you, my little Marcy. I know she would have. And I know that you’re going to be loved for the rest of your life. Because do you know who’s the most loved baby in all of the world? That’s right, it’s you! And it always will be!”


	2. Day2: Growth/School/First Steps

**Moms Made Fullmetal 2020 Day 2**

**Word Count:** 3101  
 **Author:** Katie/Ally; RealityBreakGirl  
 **Rating:** G  
 **Characters:** Genevieve Armstrong (Mrs. Armstrong). Philip Armstrong, Olivier Armstrong, Amue Armstrong, Strongine Armstrong, Catherine Armstrong  
 **Prompt:** Growth or School or First Steps  
 **Summary:** Being a mother of five, especially of children so varied, is not an easy thing. Harder still is watching them grow, watching them learn, and watching them take their first steps along the journey of life.

* * *

**Growth/School/First Steps**

Being a mother of five was not an easy job, no matter your social status. That was what Genevieve Marie Tallmound Armstrong was sure of. Oh, certainly, she had grown up in the lap of luxury, and her children had too, and while that made certain aspects easier, it was still no easy job. Children would still run you through every emotion that existed, challenge you, and leave you feeling bittersweet as you watched all of the firsts they had, especially those first steps into adulthood.

And it was especially when you married into a family as boisterous as the Armstrong family.

Genevieve was not a stupid woman by any means. While the Tallmounds had their eccentricities, everyone knew that Armstrongs had more. They were a powerful and well-respected old family, with ties that dated back to Amestris’s formation. They had always come through in a crisis or when there was need. No one could deny this. And the Armstrongs carried on their tradition proudly. It was what gave them a pass in a lot of the higher societal circles, honestly. And it was something that Genevieve respected.

Oh, certainly a lot of the newer high society families liked to twitter behind their fans and their hands, and mumble behind their glasses and mustaches about the Armstrongs and how unusual they were, but what did they truly understand? They didn’t understand the proud and noble history behind the old families. They didn’t understand how, yes, they were eccentric, but it was borne of centuries of service to the country and instilling the stories and their morals into their children, preparing them for the day that they would be in service to Amestris. No, the new families did not understand this, but the old ones did.

Genevieve Tallmound was from one of the old families herself, and she understood it well. She saw the way that the new families talked, heard what they said when they thought no one was listening, and understood the way they viewed society—and the way they viewed the ones that didn’t fit in with their view of what it should be, be it in actions, expectations, or looks. And then she discarded it for what she felt to be more true and honorable.

(and, perhaps, had used her height and her scowl to her advantage from time to time. She knew what they thought of her and her stature)

Perhaps that was why Philp Gargantos Armstrong had taken notice of her. She understood. They had, of course, taken the proper steps to courting and waited the appropriate amount of time, but they had been in love after the first few months of their courtship.

So, she supposed it really shouldn’t be a surprise that they had ended up with five children. Although Catherine was a bit of surprise.

But what a pleasure it had been over the years watching them grow, watching them learn, and helping send them off on their first steps into the world. It wasn’t easy, and it often made her heart hurt, but it was an honor. Holding each of them for the first time, their first steps, their first words, their first training sessions, the first time they were on horseback, the first time that they won a fight—she was always so proud of her children. But some moments stuck out more to a mother then others. Some moments felt more defining, as if they were marking the beginnings of her children moving on from needing her, to being independent.

She could still remember each of their first days of school clearly. It was their first steps beyond the Armstrong estate by themselves. It was the first time they would be without her or Philip for an extended period of time. She had always done her best to be reassuring. She had made sure that they were dressed properly in their uniforms, each one of them, that they were prepared, that they knew that they could face and handle this. And they had, even if each on had handled it a bit differently.

Olivier had been nervous, and hadn’t wanted to go, trying to insist that she needed to stay home and help her mother with Amue and Strongine and new baby Alex.

“Mama, you need me. I’m supposed to help. It’s my duty as the eldest.” Genevieve could still hear the fear but also the sincerity behind those words.

She had knelt down and kissed her daughter on the head. “Olivier, you are a wonderful help to me. But our duties do change over time. Right now your duty is to go to school and learn all you can so that you can help out country. The maids will help me at home.” Olivier had still looked unconvinced, and so Genevieve had continued. “You want to make sure the Armstrong family name carries on strong and proud, don’t you?”

“Yes, Mama! I do!”

“The hold your head up high, go in there, and learn all you can. And bring it back to help teach your sisters and brother. If you do that, you’ll help them learn more and more as they get older.”

Olivier’s eyes had shown with determination at those words, at this new mission and responsibility, and she had held her head high and marched into the school like she owned it on her first day. She had come home that afternoon chattering and full of information to share with her siblings. And she had continued that, her duty-bound daughter, until she left the estate all together.

Amue was the next to go, and, sensitive soul that she was, she had been nervous. She had already known that she didn’t look like the other girls—she didn’t even look like her oldest sister!—but Genevieve had done all that she could to try to encourage sweet Amue to be proud of herself.

“Do I have to go?” she had said tearfully as she and Olivier stood, waiting to go in.

“Yes,” Genevieve had replied. “You’ll like school, Amue. There’s so much to learn in there.”

“Can’t I just learn from the library at home?”

“No, darling, you must go to school.”

Olivier had reached down then, and grabbed Amue’s hand, holding it protectively, even though her younger sister was already as tall as she was.

“I’ll take care of you, Amue,” Olivier had said. “I’ll protect you, and I’ll show you all of the best places.”

That had seemed to do the trick and, even though she had clearly been nervous, Amue had trusted her big sister to take care of her. And if Genevieve and Philip had been called into a few meetings with the principal about fights Olivier had gotten into after that, well, so be it. Amue had clearly been starting to enjoy school, and Olivier was protecting the family. Neither Genevieve nor Philip had seen any dishonor in that.

Strongine, had been the third to go to school, and she had been ready ever since she had heard Olivier’s stories. She had heard all about it from her two older sisters, and she was ready to meet people and talk and play. She was as social thing, always had been, and Genevieve had been certain that this would be good for Strongine, even if her own heart twisted a bit at the thought of her then-last daughter starting to become even more independent.

“Remember your strength,” Genevieve had reminded her.

“Yes, Mama.” It had been impatiently said as Strongine looked at the other children going in.

“And remember your manners.”

“Yes, Mama.”

Olivier’s hand had snaked down then and had taken Strongine’s. “I’ll help her,” she had said. “I’ll help her understand how school works. Amue and I both will.”

And that had been that. Her three children had gone into the building with Strongine practically bounding in, and Olivier reminding her how to behave. Strongine had seemed to adapt to school well, as Olivier had got in fewer fights that year.

By the time Alex’s first day had rolled around, the girls had all been clearly comfortable at school. Alex had faced his first day with enthusiasm, eager to learn, although a bit nervous as well.

“You’ll do well,” Genevieve had said to him. “You’re a good boy, very studious.”

“I’ll do my best, Mama. I’ll make the Armstrong family name proud!”

“I’m sure you will. And your sisters will be there to help you.”

“Of course we will!” “We’ll show you all of the best places!” Amue and Strongine had been doting on their brother’s enthusiasm.

Olivier had not been as enthused. “I’ll make sure he stays out of trouble,” was all she had said to her mother, although Genevieve could read the truth of the promise in her eyes, beyond the attitude that she held.

Alex had come home that day happy and excited, with Amuse and Strongine doting over him while Olivier nursed bruised knuckles. Somehow, Genevieve had not been the least bit surprised at any of this.

By the time Catherine, her surprise baby, had come along, Olivier had been at the Military Academy, Amue and Strongine in the upper grades focusing on their studies, and Alex beginning to specialize in his.

Catherine had been shy, clinging to her mother as they stood near the walk to the school, nervous and afraid. Alex had held his hand out to her.

“It’s alright,” he had said. “There’s lots of fun stuff and fun people inside, you’ll make friends. And I’ll show you all the best places.”

“You can trust Alex,” Genevieve had said, proud of her son for this. “He and your sisters will look out for you.”

And shy, trusting Catherine had gone, only to come home with shy smiles about her day. Alex had come home with dirt smudged in his collar. Genevieve had thought that Olivier, had she been around, might have been proud of him for that, in her own way.

Those were good memories, of their first steps into a bigger but still very much protected world. Genevieve had worried over them then, but she had a measure of control. They were still her children, under her and Philip’s care, and she was still able to stand up for them and take up for them. It was hard watching them grow and knowing that her control over their lives, her ability to protect them, was waning with each year.

Harder still were their first steps out into the world on their own.

Olivier’s first steps into the adult world were much different then the first ones she took into her school. She was not nervous at all, but determined, fully committing to the path of the military. But it was not the happy day that was expected and there was no coming home to tell her mother how her time was going. Her send off to adulthood started with a relationship breaking fight with her father, and to an extent, her whole family, over who would get to carry the family sword.

“Your brother will carry it when he is of age,” Philip had said. “It’s tradition for the heir to carry it.”

“But I am the eldest, Father,” Olivier had responded. “It is mine by birthright.”

“No, it is the heir’s by right of succession,” Philip had insisted. “And he will carry it.”

Olivier had not taken that well, and finally exploded with years of pent up frustration. “Alex has already taken away heirship from me, by the simple reasoning of being male! And now you will give him my sword—the sword I have worked all my life to be worthy to hold! Alex doesn’t even know how to use it properly!”

“He can be taught—”

“I’m ready now!”

“It is not yours to carry.”

In the end, Olivier had ended up leaving with the sword in hand, but it would be many, many years before she would speak to her father or communicate well with the rest of her family. It had broken Genevieve’s heart, and it was a wound that was still healing. The years of no contact, of not knowing if she had been alright, or if she had been injured until after the fact, of only hearing of her though rumor and reports, it had been hard on Genevieve’s soul. She remained steadfastly proud of her daughter, though, and all that she had accomplished, on her own, and for the family honor.

Amue’s send off into the world had been much easier, although with Olivier missing and not even a letter from her, it had been a little bittersweet. Amue was going to go to school for diplomacy, and her education was going to start with a tour of different nearby countries, or as close as she could get.

“Be safe,” Genevieve had told her.

“I will, Mother. I’ve been well trained.”

Genevieve had still worried about Amue, but she was traveling with a good family friend who worked in diplomacy and would show her the ins and outs. After that year of travel was over, Amue had gone to the university to study the cultures around them, although she had returned for a brief time home, bringing gifts and talking about the places she had visited. She had many good conversations with her father after that on the state of political affairs, and Genevieve had been proud to hear her daughter’s desire to help their country.

Strongine had been a true middle child, with no clear path in what she wanted to do. She had traveled around a bit, stayed home a bit, and tried various things. But eventually she did settle on what she wanted to do, and started right in on it, with little discussion, but full of enthusiasm.

Strongine had a drive to help those in need. On top of that, she was personable, fun, and could capture attention easily. She had found an organization that went into poor areas and helped people learn new skills and had needed help with both the application of it and gaining support. She had come home bubbling over with excitement about this and had resolved immediately to join. She had known that she could do both of those things, and she had been eager to help out. It had only been a couple of weeks before she had been taking her first steps into the adult world.

“You have all you’ll need?” Genevieve had asked her.

“Yes, Mother,” Strongine had replied, amused. “I don’t need much—the point is to help others, not carry my bedroom with me.”

“A mother is allowed to worry. Write to us.”

“I will.”

And just like that, in a whirlwind, she had been off, ready to help whoever she could in this world. They had heard from her often, and soon the organization she had been working for was coming into notice more and more. Genevieve could not have been prouder of her middle daughter.

Alex’s first steps into the world had been much more grandiose, at least to Philip. Amue and Strongine had come back to see him off the Academy, and Catherine was there of course. Genevieve had read the disappointment in her son’s eyes that Olivier wasn’t there, that she hadn’t even sent a letter, but it was what it was. Philip had boasted and bragged about how proud he was of Alex. Genevieve’s words were more of a mother’s worries.

“Be safe,” she had said.

“I will, mother.”

“Guard yourself.”

“I will, mother.”

“Remember the honor you bear.”

“Always, mother.”

And like that, he had headed off. Oh, but she had wished later that her son’s first steps into adulthood wouldn’t lead to such tragedy, but she couldn’t have predicted the future. All she could do was be there for him as much as possible. She had been proud at his certification as a State Alchemist and had been aghast when he was sent home and he spoke of what he had seen there. She had supported him as best she could, and she was proud of him even if he wasn’t of himself.

Catherine had yet to take her first full steps into the adult world, but she was toeing the line with a promising musical career. Several schools and groups were looking at her already, and Genevieve was sure that it wouldn’t be long until she was saying goodbye to her youngest as she watched her take her first steps into her own future. It would be difficult to send off her youngest into adulthood, but wasn’t that what motherhood was about? Helping your children grow and become good people, good adults, that you could be proud of?

Voices caught her ear as she drew closer to the dining room, drawing her out of her musings, and she couldn’t help my smile at them all. She recognized each voice, echoes of their childhood in them in ways that only a mother could hear.

“Alex would you stop crying!” _Olivier._

“I’m sorry, Sister, I’m just so overjoyed that we’re all here!” _Alex._

“If he doesn’t stop crying, and dad starts crying, do you think we’ll need to build a canoe to keep us from drowning?” _Strongine._

“You know, they have a saying about this sort of thing down in Aerugo.” _Amue._

“Here you go, Alex. Take this tablecloth for a hankie.” _Catherine._

“Very good thinking, Catherine.” _Philip._

Genevieve couldn’t suppress the smile that graced her lips as she walked towards the dining room, nor did she want to. For the first time in around twenty years, all of her children were under one roof, and getting along relatively well. She had watched them grow from small children taking their first steps towards a guided independence, to men and women taking their first steps into true independence. It had been full of ups and downs and struggles, but at this moment she wouldn’t trade it for all the tea in Xing. She had her children and her husband all together. Perhaps now there would be some new growth and new first steps for them all—this time, together.

“I see you are all as boisterous as ever.”

“Ah, Genevieve, my dear! I’m glad you’re here now!”

“Yes. And I’m pleased to see all of you here, as well.”

Yes, her children may have grown up, and may have taken their steps into adulthood, but they were still her little ones, and her heart swelled with pride and love at them.

This would be another cherished memory.


	3. Day 3: Disappointment/Apologies/Grounded

**Moms Made Fullmetal 2020 Day 3**

**Word Count:** 3928  
 **Author:** Katie/Ally; RealityBreakGirl  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Characters:** Riza Hawkeye, Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, Roy Mustang  
 **Prompt:** Disappointment or Apologies or Grounded  
 **Summary** : The boys are grounded. A mission is underway. The boys un-ground themselves. And Riza will do whatever it takes to protect her two boys.

* * *

**Disappointment/Apologies/Grounded**

“I can’t believe he-he—He grounded us!”

Edward’s complaint sounded loudly in the car, and if Riza Hawkeye was a more expressive woman, she would have sighed at it.

“He grounded us! Like we were—Like we were kids or something!”

“Um, but you know, we are kids, Brother.”

“Th—That’s not the point! He shouldn’t be able to ground us!”

This was shaping up to an epic rant, and it honestly wasn’t one that Riza was in the mood for. “The Colonel has his reasons,” she said, hoping to cut off the rant. “Please accept that, Edward.”

“Reasons to treat us like kids?!” Edward shot back.

“Um, it does seem a bit of an overreaction, to be truthful, Lieutenant,” Alphonse said. “We fixed all the damage we caused.”

“I understand that,” she replied evenly, “but remember that the Colonel has more information then you do, and a better read on the situation beyond you two and your mission. You need to trust him sometimes.”

“But pulling our traveling privileges!” Edward clearly wasn’t finished protesting. “He just wants to keep me around here to show off when the generals come through.”

Riza huffed, a little bit exasperated. “Edward, would you please just accept that he’s trying to help you? Your last mission caused far too much property damage. Eyes are on you. You have enemies. It’s not a bad thing to lay low for a bit.”

“Tch. Whatever.” Edward was clearly not having any of this, too angry at the colonel to want to consider any other perspective.

“It’s just hard, ma’am,” Alphonse tried to take up for his brother. “We’re not used to staying in one place for long, especially when its our research on the line. And it does seem like the Colonel’s decision was a bit of an overreaction.”

She pulled the car to a stop in front of the hotel the boys were staying at, and put it in park, turning to where she could look at both of them easier. “Boys, listen. I understand your frustration. I really do. But please believe me when I say it’s for the best. Go inside, go to your room, and relax a little. And please trust us.”

“Its not you I’ve got a problem with,” Edward said, but he got of the car anyway, Alphonse not far behind him. “Fine. We’ll go to our room tonight. We’ll do some research tomorrow. Happy?”

“I’m satisfied for now,” Riza replied. “As long as you keep to that.”

There was a little something that went through Edward’s eyes then, something that, she could tell, he was fighting in himself with. She didn’t let her gaze waver from him. Finally, he looked away.

“Yeah. See you in the morning, I guess.” He was still not happy, but Riza would take it.

“Yeah, bye Lieutenant Hawkeye,” Alphonse said, a bit more at ease then his brother. “Have a good evening.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, boys,” She replied. “Have a good evening yourselves.”

For a moment they stood there, as if expecting her to drive off. When they realized that she wasn’t, they turned, making their way inside the hotel. Riza waited for a few moments, just to make sure that they stayed inside, and then put the car in drive and left. Now that the Elrics were safe, she needed to focus on the mission at hand.

The brothers had come back at possibly the worst time ever, and with far too much attention on them. The brothers had inadvertently and unknowingly disrupted the supply chain for the black-market suppliers three times in the past two months. This last debacle had taken down one of the major underground warehouses for goods and had gained the brothers some powerful enemies. On top of that, the boys had returned to Central, where many of the main players in the black market had come together to meet. The team had been on this for months and was looking to make a big move to capture these leaders. But with the Elrics back in town and they having unwittingly made enemies of these powerful men, the attention was starting to shift to them. Normally getting them out of town would be a viable option, but with the current influx, Mustang had been worried that it would bring more attention to Ed and Al and make them more of a target.

No, the best thing to do was for them to lay low, and the best way to make that happen was to restrict their privileges. The option of telling them had come up, but the whole team agreed that it wouldn’t keep them out of trouble, it would just involve them more and that the opposite of what they wanted. This was a very precise operation, and they boys weren’t know for being very precise in their dealings with people.

Riza parked the car a few blocks away from the rendezvous point, quickly removing her uniform jacket, and bottoms, and slipping a skirt on instead, and taking her hair down, and put them and her service holsters and weapons the bag she had brought with her. In the dark her boots would do as far as footwear went, and she tucked some food on top of the clothing and weapons in her bag, making it look a little less suspicious. She headed out then, making her way towards the apartment they had all agreed to meet at.

Everyone else was already there, and the plan, which had been weeks in the making, was gone over while they all ate. Riza was, as expected, stationed in a nearby tower where she could see the whole area. She would be their eyes and ears, as well as their protection. The minute people started to leave the building, her job was to find their main targets and take them down—preferably without killing them, of course, but if it was necessary, she had been given the clearance to do so. It was all set up, it was all ready, and all they had to do was get in position.

A few more details, the suiting up and gathering of items, and the team was leaving in staggered exits. There were others on standby, of course, as this was far too large of a group and too big of a job for their six members to handle alone. But of course, they weren’t all of the men under Mustang’s command, just his most trusted ones, and more stood ready to move on command. There were lots of moving parts to this plan, and they needed to be able to stay within a certain margin of error.

It didn’t take Riza long to get to her sniper’s nest once she left, and she settled in quickly and nicely, able to see most of the building. She watched the patterns of the guards, saw people arriving, and, along with the other spotters, called in what they saw. Quietly, the teams moved in, ready to make the bust. It was almost time. There was no turning back now, no matter what happened.

Riza waited, quiet and still in the silence, only turning to look at movement here and there through her scope. Mostly it was guards, the occasional dog, or one of their own men. But her heart dropped to her stomach when she caught sight of something completely different.

Edward and Alphonse.

Mentally she cursed. What were they doing here? Clearly, they were sneaking around, but she doubted they had any idea of what they were about to stumble into. Not good, not good at all. Both boys had a large target on their backs, and they way that Edward tended to react to situation, while often useful, would also upset the entire operation. There was no way to warn the colonel. He didn’t have a radio with him, nor did most of the teams going in. She would have to take care of this herself. She didn’t see another choice.

“Ed and Al are here. Solow, Neason, come take over my position. I’m going after them.”

She heard the surprise and the responses from the other end, and then she slipped off her headset, only taking the time to make sure she was as armed as possible before she slipped down the stairs.

Although it wouldn’t have surprised many people, most didn’t realize just how good at being stealthy Riza was. Borne from years of sneaking around her own home to avoid her father, as well as years of hunting, stealth had come easily to her in her military training. It wasn’t a skill she always utilized, but she had it, nonetheless. Now it was put into use as she slipped down and away, going towards the building and her last sighting of the Elric brothers. Maybe she could catch them before everything went sideways—because she was convinced that it would go sideways now.

And it did.

She heard the shouts of surprise first, and then of civilians giving orders. She heard the telltale clap and ring of alchemy, and she emerged into the room just in time to see everything go wrong.

At least twenty men were in the room, several already firing at Ed and Al. She could hear the bullets ding off of Al’s armor even as Edward raised a wall to protect them both. Unfortunately, it happened at the same time that the explosions were set to block off the men’s path out one side of the building—and Ed’s wall was blocking off the entrance that the teams were planning on using to enter. There was no back up, and Ed and Al were between these dangerous men and their only exit.

She would have to do something about that.

She pulled her rifle amidst all the chaos. These were her boys. Ed and Al were her boys, and she was going to everything she could to protect them. One, two, three shots. One, two, three men down. It garnered her attention, though, and she had to move and move quickly. She dodged heading low zigzagging her way across and shooting as she went. These men were heavily armed, and they were one woman and two alchemists. She took out a few of them, but there were more of them coming at her, firing at her.

“Lieutenant!?” she could hear Ed’s surprised from across the room.

“Hunker down!” she called back, hoping that he’d listen.

She winced and stumbled as she felt a bullet graze her arm, and it stung like it was on fire, but she had more important things to worry about. While she was sure that the colonel and the teams were already working to find an alternate way around, she wasn’t sure that there was that much time. Some of the men in the room had decided to physically take on Edward and Alphonse and, while she knew they could hold their own in a fight, these men were big and played dirty.

And that was when she caught it.

This room was large and had an odd sort of decoration that went around the top. It was big enough for someone to stand on—or to snipe from. And there was a sniper up there.

No. No. Not her boys. She wouldn’t allow it!

There was a ping as the bullet struck Alphonse’s head, and she was certain that he would have a dent in it when they took time to look. She heard him protest, but she had to fight off the man in front of her. He had gotten too close for her to use her guns, was trying to keep her from moving forward physically, and made it so she wasn’t able to take down the sniper. Fortunately, Riza was no slouch in hand to hand, and Alphonse was no fool. He had moved to protect his brother better.

But these boys were her boys, were her responsibility, and she wasn’t going to let this thug or any other stand in her way. She wasn’t just the Hawk’s Eyes anymore, she was a vengeful Mother Hawk who was going to protect her young no matter who got in her way. It meant that she took some good blows here and there, but she worked to drop or otherwise incapacitate the men between her and her boys.

Suddenly a man was being kicked out of her face by a black and red figure, and the sound of clanking wasn’t far behind him

“Lieutenant! What are you doing here?”

“You were supposed to stay at the hotel!” She snapped back at him. Where had the sniper moved to?

“We’re not kids! We had a lead and we followed it!” Edward snapped back.

“You followed it into a military operation!” she said. “We need to l—”

She paused, spotting the sniper and realizing that Ed had put himself right into his sights when he came to assist her. Riza cursed out loud this time, and she moved, only hoping that whatever gun that sniper had, it wasn’t a proper sniper rifle, with proper sniper ammo. Her attention was fully on protecting Edward, not even paying the least bit of attention to whatever he might have been saying.

“Not my boy!” she snarled out.

In one fluid motion she stepped in front of Edward, using her momentum to shove him behind the wall he had erected earlier. Her had was reaching for one of her guns, but there was no time. The bullet pierced her side, and she went down with a cry. Simultaneously there was a blast from one of the blocked entrances and fire spilled out into the room, close enough that the flames licked at her arms. She cried out again, and for a moment, the world was a dizzying blur of pain, flame, shouts and smoke.

Then suddenly, something was blocking her from all of that, and a distressed young face appeared over her.

“Lieutenant! Lieutenant, hang on!”

“Is she--?”

“We—we gotta get her out of here, Al! She needs help!”

Riza reached up to grab at Ed’s sleeve, grasping it hard. She ignored the burns on her arm. “Hunker…. Down…” she said again.

“But you need—” he tried to protest.

Riza could still hear the fighting going on. It wouldn’t be safe to leave now. But through the pain, the only words she managed to get out again were “Hunker down!”

He hesitated for a moment, and then his coat was off of him, and pressing into her side. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he was saying. “I can’t help the burns, but I can try this! I’m sorry!”

Riza swallowed, and closed her eyes for a second, trying to hear how the battle was going. It sounded like it was winding down, and it should have, with all of the soldier that they had brought with them. Footsteps sounded, coming around the wall, and Riza forced her eyes open again, grabbing Ed’s head and pushing it down protectively, even as she pulled out a gun to aim at the intruder. Edward gave a startled sort of squawk at this, but she didn’t care. A startled Alphonse tried to reach for her, but she wasn’t having it.

She fired off a warning shot as whoever it was approaching. “Stay away from my boys!” she snarled out again.

The footsteps stopped. “Lieutenant?”

“Colonel.”

And just like that, all of the fight was gone out of her. The gun clattered to the ground and she allowed Edward up even as she sank back down. The voices around her grew frantic again, but she was having trouble concentrating on them through the pain she was in. She reached for Roy’s arm, holding onto his sleeve. “Keep them safe. Keep my boys safe…”

The next thing that Riza was aware of was waking up in a haze of drug-induced fuzziness. She blinked a little, trying to make sense of things. It took her a second to realize that she was in a hospital bed, and that she had dulled pain in her side and on her arms.

“Riza?”

That voice was familiar, and it took her a moment to place it in the drug-addled brain. She turned her head slowly to see Roy looking at her with concern.

“Roy?” she asked and then, after a moment, “sir.”

He shook his head. “It’s alright its just the two of. Are you finally with me?”

She blinked at him. “What?”

“Well, you’ve woken up a little before, but always slipped right back into sleep.” He smiled at her. “It’s kinda cute.” Riza scowled at him, and he laughed. “Alright, alright, you’re back with me.”

She took a moment to look down at herself, noting the bandages on her arms and the pain in her side. “What happened?” she asked. “How am I?”

“You took a bullet to the side, Riza, from a rifle. But you stopped it from getting Edward. That’s why your side hurts. As for you arms, one small part is from a bullet that grazed you. But the rest is my fault, I’m afraid. I didn’t know you were there, and you ended up in the way of some of my flames when I used them to burst in the door. They had to do surgery on your side. You’ve been out for about and day and you’re going to be in here for a least a week.”

“Oh.” She said, scowling a bit at the thought of a week in the hospital. But then another thought occurred to her. “The boys?”

“Safe. Both of them are safe. Turns out that some information had been planted to draw them to those black-market dealers. That’s why they ended up there. Speaking of,” he looked up and towards the door. “They’ve been worried sick. Do you feel up to having visitors?”

Riza answered with little hesitation. “Yes,” she said. She wanted to see that they were alright with her own two eyes.

Roy nodded and stood, heading towards the door. Riza didn’t pay much mind to what was going on until she heard a voice.

“Lieutenant Hawkeye?”

She blinked for a second, and then look up to see the uncertain faces of Edward and Alphonse (well, Alphonse’s body language) greet her.

“Boys,” the word fell from her lips, a little more relieved then she meant for it to sound. Oh well.

They seemed to perk a little at her response, looking encouraged by it, and came further into the room.

“Lieutenant! We’re so glad you’re awake!” Alphonse’s voice was enthusiastic, although quiet. “How do you feel?”

She was quiet for a moment. “Numb,” she finally said. “But I think that’s the pain medicine. Pretty sure when that’s out of my system my side and arms are gonna feel awful.” The boys exchanged guilty looks, and, even medicated, it didn’t escape her sharp eyes. “How are you two?”

“Oh, um brother is going to have to figure out how to get this dent out of my head,” Alphonse said, bending to show her an area of his helmet that had a good dent in it. “But other than that, I’m fine!”

“I’m alright too. Just the usually bumps and scrapes.” Edward frowned. “It would have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for you.” He looked at her, his eyes full of guilt. “I—Lieutenant, I just—I—”

Riza shook her head. “If you’re going to apologize for me getting hurt, protecting you, don’t. I made that choice and I’d make it again. You do not need to feel guilt or feel bad about that.”

“But if it wasn’t for us being there, you wouldn’t be hurt like this!” Edward said, emotions and thoughts he’d clearly been dwelling on coming out. “You wouldn’t have taken that bullet for me, and you wouldn’t have nearly bleed out or gotten your hands burned! Mustang explained what the plan was! You would have been safe up in that tower! And just—we really—” he wasn’t looking at her anymore, his shoulders tight and his gaze downcast. Alphonse, like was, was looking incredibly guilty for a suit of armor. “…we’re sorry.”

“We know we shouldn’t have gone,” Alphonse added on. “We really didn’t think it would be that much trouble! But we did anyway. Are you angry at us?”

Riza was quiet for a moment, gathering her thoughts as best she could.

“I’m not angry,” she finally said, and they both looked at her with surprise and a bit of relief. “But I am disappointed in you.” If possible, they looked more stricken then before. “I asked you to trust the colonel. I asked you to stay in your room that night. And you told me you would. And what I’m disappointed in, was that you broke your word.”

“But we didn’t—”

“You didn’t say that in so many words, no.” Riza said. “But I trusted that when you said that the both of you would stay in your room, that you would. You were complaining about being treated like a child, but a man is someone who means what they say, even if they don’t give their explicit word. And I’m disappointed that you didn’t do that.”

Both boys were looking down now, stricken. “Lieutenant,” Edward said, “we’re—we’re sorry. We’re sorry that we broke our word.”

“We’re sorry that we messed up the plan,” Alphonse added.

“We’re sorry that you got hurt.”

“We’re sorry that things got out of control.”

“We’re sorry that we didn’t listen.”

“We’re sorry that we didn’t trust the colonel more.”

“We’re sorry for disappointing you.”

The last one was spoken in unison. Riza was silent during their apologies and, when it seemed that they had finished. She gestured for the both of them to come closer. “Edward. Alphonse. Do you know why I’m so disappointed in you?”

“Because you got hurt?”

“Because we put the team in danger?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m disappointed because I care about the two of you very, very much. When Edward joined, I promised that I would always look after the two of you as best I could. That feeling has just grown deeper over the years.” She reached out with one bandaged hand, putting all of their hands together on the edge of her bed. “I care for everyone on my team—but you boys, I care for you in a special way. I would do anything I could to protect you.”

Both of them were staring at her with a mix of emotions clear in them, and she gave their hands a squeeze.

“…you mean a lot to us too,” Alphonse finally said. “Sometimes… sometimes its hard to tell just how much the adults around us care but…”

“But you’ve always cared,” Edward picked up. “And—and we care about you too. That’s why we’re so sorry. Our actions got you hurt this badly and we’re so sorry.”

She gave their hands a squeeze again. “It’s all forgiven, at least from me. Just promise me that next time you’ll listen when we tell you to stay put.”

There was rapid agreement from the boys, and then Riza asked them to fill her in on what had been going on with the case and in the office. Her boys launched into an explanation, and Riza settled back, content. Perhaps they weren’t her boys in blood. But they were definitely her boys in her heart.


	4. Day 4: Victory/Responsibility/Homework

**Moms Made Fullmetal 2020 Day 4**

**Word Count:** 5832  
 **Author:** Katie/Ally; RealityBreakGirl  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Characters:** Olivier Armstrong, Brigg’s Doc, Herchel, Karley, Neil, Alex Armstrong, Vato Falman, Major Miles, Buccaneer (kinda)  
 **Prompt:** Victory/Responsibility/Homework  
 **Summary** : Olivier makes a startling discovery six weeks after the Promised Day. It has the potential to up-end her life, but Olivier Mira Armstrong isn’t one to let circumstances dictate what she needs to do.  
 **Author’s Notes:** This was a bit of an experiment, mostly to see if I could do this and do it in a way that made sense. It wasn’t intended to be this long, but it certainly got away from me! Also please make note that while it wasn’t mentioned in the anime (at least, I don’t recall it in the English version), it has been noted elsewhere that Major Miles has a wife. I decided to go for that with this.

* * *

**Victory/Responsibility/Homework**

“I’m—what?”

Doc looked at the general, her face very serious. No one else was in the room with them or even nearby. Doc had sent Neil away, saying it was “a girl problem” and he had vacated quickly. Olivier knew that there was no one waiting outside of the doors for her either. Miles was in Ishval and Buccaneer—

Buccaneer…

“You have to be joking,” Olivier said, “I can’t—” She couldn’t even say it.

“I’m not, sir,” Doc said, picking up the reports to show her. “I ran it twice to be sure. You’re pregnant, sir.”

Olivier looked down at her stomach in shock It still seemed flat, but there was a child in there? A baby? And it had to be—

“General,” Doc interrupted her thoughts. “General I have to ask—do you have any idea of the timeline? Or of the father’s identity?”

Her hand was drifting towards her own stomach now and when she responded, she almost felt like it wasn’t even her talking. “Yes,” she said, her voice still firm. “Six weeks ago is the only possibility. And that would make the father Captain Buccaneer.”

She spoke the words, felt a whirlwind of emotions, an something felt like it was rising in her. She grabbed for the garbage can, raising it to her and throwing up in it. She caught sight of Doc’s face as she moved, it going from shock, to pity, and to finally settling on sadness. When Olivier finished, she put the garbage can down and took a breath.

“Alright. What’s… what’s the next step then?”

“That depends on you,” Doc said. “For the moment we can keep it quiet. But you’ll have to make some decisions soon. I’d like to send you to North City’s hospital for a better evaluation. But General, the fort is no place to raise a child, even if regulations allowed it. You’ll have to decide what to do with the child. If you keep it, then you’ll need to relocate. I don’t know if the captain had any family, but there’s the possibility of seeing if them or if your relatives will take the child in. There’s also orphanages and adoption. And…” she hesitated “…there are other alternatives. But I won’t preform them. You’d have to go to North City for that.”

“No.” Her no was firm, without hesitation. “Being gifted with a child is a high honor. I will not kill this child. I will not kill his child.”

Doc looked relieved and nodded. “Alright. Then there are other options to consider. Think about them, please, General, and take some time to. Nothing has to be decided right now.”

Olivier nodded, and stood up, putting back on her stern general’s face. She couldn’t afford to let anything slip right now. Fortunately, she was good at acting, a skill passed down through the Armstrong family for generation. One had to be, to survive in high society. She started for the door.

“General?” Doc’s voice caught her and she turned slightly. “If—if you need to talk things through with someone, my door is always open.”

For a moment, Olivier didn’t say anything. “…thank you, Patty. I’ll keep that in mind.”

And with that, she was out the door to the infirmary and taking steps into the hallway.

“Hey, General, all done there?” Her head turned to see Neil casually leaning on the wall, as if waiting, a cup of coffee in his hand.

“Yes,” she said. “You can return to your station now.”

“Everything okay?”

Part of Olivier’s mind raced at those words. Had he heard? Was he eavesdropping? The urge to threaten him rose up in her, protective instincts flaring. But she kept her face cool and composed, and hope she gave nothing of her inner turmoil away.

“Fine as usual,” she said, although nothing could be further from the truth. “Just routine for women.” Which was true, for most women, honestly.

Neil looked slightly uncomfortable at that, and just nodded. “Alright, well, see you around, General!” he hurried back to the infirmary, and to his workshop. Olivier breathed out a silent sigh of relief and continued on to her office, feeling strangely expose even in her own fort, without the presence of her two closest and best men with her.

She felt alone.

Still, Olivier made her way through her fort, nodding back at her men as she passed them. She should return to her office and do her work. She should be checking in on fort operations. But her mind was still whirling, and she knew that she would get nothing done if she didn’t go and clear it. She headed up towards the top of the fort, and out on to it. There were patrols that stopped and saluted her, of course, and she returned it, but she didn’t stop. Instead, she headed towards the place where she liked to sit and contemplate things. None of her soldiers bothered her, understanding that their queen needed to be left alone right now.

The fort was solid underneath her, cold, but not as cold as the dead of winter. She looked out at the landscape, frowning to herself as she did. Spring had come, even in these harsh lands, and the snow was beginning to melt away on much of the land. Things were no longer black and white, which she took as quite the irony considering her current situation.

She tilted her head, back, looking away from the mountains and up at the sky. “What was it you said to me?” she murmured. “That things were never black and white? Even in the harsh winter, I could look up and see blue?”

She could still see the grin on his face when he talked about the sky, and it made her heart twist inside of her. She closed her eyes for just a moment, remembering.

_The night before the Promised Day had arrived. Olivier had gone over and over the plans, drilled them into her men, making sure that everything that could possibly be in place was. Once she was satisfied, she had sent the men to sleep. They would need their rest for the coming battle. She, herself, had retired to the sitting room that her father used to tell her stories of the family legacy in. Would there be anyone to pass on the family legacy to after this? Would there be a family legacy to pass on? How many of her men would never be able to pass on their family legacies after tomorrow? She understood that loss was to happen, and she accepted it. But it was at moments like this that she allowed herself to feel some of the sorrow that would come with that loss._

_The door to the sitting room had creaked open, but Olivier hadn’t bothered to turn around, nor to go towards her sword. There was only one person in this house that would dare to disturb her now, and she recognized his familiar earth scent coupled with the small of automail grease._

_“Buccaneer,” she had said._

_“General,” he responded. “I thought you might still be up.”_

_“And I thought I told you and the rest of the men to go to bed.”_

_He walked closer to her. “Someone’s got to look out for you too, sir,” he said. “You’ve already got tomorrow’s losses on your mind.”_

_She didn’t bother to deny it. “I do.”_

_He snorted. “And people think your heart is made of nothing but ice.”_

_“What did you come here for?” she demanded of him._

_“To check on you,” he said. He came up behind where she was sitting in a chair, and reached a gentle hand down, catching her hair and lifting it towards him. She let him, not pulling away, slightly relaxing into it. It was a familiar gesture, one that happened, though, only when they were truly alone. It was almost as if he were bowing to her, almost as if he were touching her hair to his forehead as a vow. It was intimate, and far closer than she let anyone else be. He gently let it down, and then moved that gentle hand of his to carefully sweep her hair back and away from her face._

_“Olivier,” he said, dropping all formalities. “Let’s have tonight. We might not have another.”_

_She sat there for a moment, part of her reasoning that she should say no, that there was too much to do and think about. But he was able to reach a part of here that no one else could, and so there was no sharp comeback on her tongue. She acquiesced, leaning into his hand on the barest amount. “Yes,” she said. “Let’s have tonight.”_

_No one was around to see as he led her back to her own room, or if they were, they made themselves scarce and pretended not to see. The door closed behind them, firmly, and she dropped her heavy walls just for him. She allowed him to lead her to her bed, trusted him with herself. It wasn’t the first time they had done this, but each time was meaningful, both of them able to reach a part of the other that no one else could. That was the only reason either of them allowed it. It wasn’t always something that they were able to take the time to enjoy, and sometimes it was made up more of passion then gentleness. But that night, they were gentle with each other in a way that either of them rarely were. It was meaningful to them to be that trusting, and when they finally slept, it was content with each other’s presence._

_When her clock went off the next morning, it was back to business, it was preparing for war. He helped her dress, got her suited up for the day, and ran over the plans with her again, all very by the book and militaristic, without any of the soft gentleness from the night before. That was how it should be, how it was. But before she left her bedroom, he stopped her, that gentle hand cupping her face for just a moment, and for a moment, she softened slightly in return._

_And then his hand was gone, and her back was straight,_

_“Happy Hunting, General!” he said with that grin of his and a salute. “I’ll see you soon, either in victory, or death!”_

_“It had better be victory, or I’ll never forgive you,” she had shot back. “I’ll see you soon, Captain.”_

The night was clear in her memory, each moment something to be savored and remembered, even though the last words spoken to each other were not ones of lovers. But she knew that neither of them would have it any other way. Olivier’s hand drifted down to her stomach, although nothing was showing yet, and she wondered what the babe insider her could feel. This little piece of Buccaneer left inside her. 

“That’s right,” she murmured to herself, so low no one could be able to hear her. She looked out at the complicated color showing through the stark snow of the mountains. “I’ll never forgive you, Buccaneer. Do you hear me? I’ll never forgive you!”

She’d never forgive him, and she’d make sure that his child grew up knowing just who his father was. And there was no doubt that she was keeping this child. The Armstrongs had long regarded motherhood as a most noble and dignified occupation. To be entrusted with the smallest, the weakest, the most vulnerable of society, and to be given the honor and responsibility of keeping them safe, of helping them grow and learn, and helping them develop into good men and women was a high honor indeed. To shun that duty or to cause harm to a child was something that they regarded as detestable. She would be having this child.

But the doctor was right. She couldn’t raise the child here. The fort was dangerous for grown men and women, much less a child. There was no way that the child would be able to stay here. Doc had mentioned other options and she mentally ran through them in her head.

She outright rejected the idea of leaving the child with Buccaneer’s family. He had told her a little about them, and Olivier understood why he had left. She would not condemn a child to a life that the father had struggled to escape from. Likewise, she rejected the idea of an orphanage. There were good ones, true, but many of them struggled far too much to provide for all of the children that had need. She had the means to care for this child, she couldn’t take away what another child might need because of her own selfishness. Adoption was a better option, but it twisted at her heart too much. This was her and Buccaneer’s child. It would have a great family legacy behind it, and how would her child know it, if it was given to parents who had no connections? Her family was another option, and they would take the child in, but she would be shirking her responsibility to the child by just leaving it with her parents, and that would be dishonorable as well, although not as much as the other options. That really only left her with one choice.

She would have to leave Fort Briggs.

Her lips pursed. She hated the idea of leaving. But she needed to do something. And it would be a huge headache to ask for a transfer. There would be demands to know why, and that would bring up other issues and it would be an all-around headache. But it would have to be done.

She had reached a decision, only for the decision to lead to more problems and decisions. But she refused to blame any of it on the child, and she refused to regret her night with Buccaneer.

This was now her problem, and she would take responsibility. And just like always, she would find a way to make her circumstances into a victory for herself. The only question was, how.

The answer came about a week later

Technically, given her rank, Olivier should have had her own office, where she could be alone to work on sensitive things. But Olivier had found that a waste of space, and had, instead, moved her desk to the communications room. This kept her in the loop much faster, and it wasn’t as if the communications officers didn’t already know everything. Aside from that, Karley was one of her most trusted men. He would know what was going on sooner or later anyway.

She had been attempting to focus on some paperwork that had been building a bit. Pregnant or not, she still had paperwork to do and a fort to run. She had, unfortunately, found it increasingly difficult to concentrate, which frustrated her and did not make it any easier to concentrate. She supposed it was understandable, given the circumstances, but she hadn’t given anyone the circumstances, and was positive that Karley, at least, had noticed her low productivity. She had been determined, though, that she would make it through the paperwork today. She was actually making good headway when Karley interrupted her.

“Pardon me, sir, but there’s a call from Central. It’s your brother.”

That caught her attention. She had left him to oversee immediate affairs of the estate, and while there were a few things that had come up, it had been nothing that he and their father hadn’t been able to quickly handle and inform her about later. The fact that he was calling immediately set off alarm bells in her head.

“Put him through,” she said, waiting until Karley had nodded before picking up the phone. “Alex,” she said.

“Ah! Sister! How wonderful to hear your voice! I trust you’re doing well?” his voice was jovial, not alarmed at all, and this annoyed Olivier.

“I was doing better before you called,” she bit back.

“Ferocious as ever, I see,” he said. “I wanted to let you know that I’m going to be up in North City the day after tomorrow. Something’s come up that I need to discuss with you, and the Fuhrer gave me the time off to take care of it.”

Olivier’s eyes narrowed. Her brother could be spineless, and he was over emotional, but he wasn’t stupid, and he was no stranger to codes. Oliver deciphered this one quickly. Old man Grumman was sending him on a mission to see her, possibly to give her something.

“You should be able to take of things by yourself, Alex, and not have to ask for special permission off!” she snapped back. “Fortunately for you, I have something I need to discuss with you as well. What time will you be in North City?”

There was a small pause, not enough for anyone else to catch, but enough for her to know that she had caught him off guard. “I should arrive by noon tomorrow,” he said.

“Meet me tomorrow at one at Eklund’s,” she said. “It’s a local restaurant.” And one that had private rooms.

“Very well, sister, I will see you then.”

Olivier didn’t bother with a closing sentiment, just hung up the phone.

“Everything alright, sir?” Karley asked her.

Olivier paused in her paperwork, looking at Karley. “I don’t know,” she said. “But we’ll find out what Grumman wants with me tomorrow.”

“Sir.”

Olivier turned back to her paperwork, then, but her mind wasn’t really on it. What could Grumman want with her? What was it that was sensitive enough that he had dispatched Alex to her, and done it under the guise of a non-military issue? And what was she going to tell Alex? She was already seven weeks along. It was subtle, but she could tell there was a change there. She wouldn’t be able to hide this for much longer.

By the time that she went to bed that night, Olivier had worked herself through a thousand different things to say, none of them anything she liked. Her hand rested on her stomach again and she curled under her thick blankets. “…We’ll figure something out. I will give you a good life.”

Henschel accompanied her to North City the next day, quickly becoming someone that she could rely on in the place of Miles and Buccaneer. He drove her to Eklund’s where she secured a small room for herself and Alex.

“Overhear nothing,” she said to him before she went into the room to wait. “And if you do overhear anything, keep it to yourself.”

“Yes, sir.” He said, although there was clear curiosity in his eyes.

Olivier ignored it.

She waited in the room for Alex, her nerves rising. She could face down the entire Drachman army without flinching, but telling her brother that she was pregnant was giving her fits of nerves? She mentally cursed herself for this. It shouldn’t be this hard. It wasn’t as if Alex was going to reject her for this, or the family for that matter. Perhaps it was more of a matter of saying it out loud that was the problem.

She was jolted out of her thoughts by the door suddenly bursting open, revealing her brother. She didn’t jump, or at least, not in the way most people would have described it, but it was enough to catch her brother’s attention, not that he acknowledged it right then.

“Hello, sister dear! You’re looking fine today!”

“Sit down, Alex and order some food. I don’t have all day to spend listening to your rambling.”

“Ah, of course,” he said. “Well, my business shouldn’t take too long.”

“Any trouble with the spring floods on your way up?”

They ambled about small talk for a moment, allowing time to place their order of food and for it to be brought before they dropped the act.

“Alright, Alex, let’s cut to the heart of the matter. Why are you here?”

He shook his head. “That can wait a moment. Are you alright, Olivier?”

She tensed. “I’m fine.”

“You jumped when I came into the room. You turned down the alcohol and some of the foods I know you love. Your uniform is a bit tight. And you’re pale. Something is clearly wrong.”

Olivier scowled at her brother’s ability to observe details, but that was what put him into investigations. It was literally his job to notice things and put them together. Still, she held her tongue for a moment, gripping her fork a little tighter. He waited patiently.

“…I’m pregnant, Alex.”

He froze, looking at her with wide eyes. “You—you’re what?”

“Pregnant.” She repeated.

He stared at her. “Olivier…” he said.

“It’s Buccaneer’s,” she said, the words seeming to just come out. “We spent the night before the Promised Day together. I found out a week ago. I’m seven weeks along at this point.”

“Oh, Olivier…” she could hear the pity and sorrow in his voice, and it made her angry.

“I don’t want your pity, Alex! But the family must be informed, and decisions have to be made! I’m keeping this child!”

Alex held up his hands. “My apologies, Olivier. I didn’t mean to show you pity, just sorrow for your loss.”

She settled down a bit at that, but she felt unstable now, more emotional then she wanted to.

“What are you going to do?” Alex asked carefully, after a moment of silence from her.

She looked down at her food, her brow furrowing. “I don’t know,” she finally admitted. “I can’t stay at the fort. I want to stay at the fort, but Briggs is no place to raise a child, even if it was allowed. I’m going to have to ask for a transfer, but I don’t know where to, and I know that all sorts of questions will be raised. I don’t want this child to come into a world where people feel its very existence is a disgrace.”

Alex was quiet for a moment. “I may have a solution for you, Olivier.”

She looked up at him. “What?”

He reached into his briefcase and pulled out an envelope. “It’s the reason Fuhrer Grumman sent me up here. It’s an offer and a promotion. He wants you to head Northern Command.”

Olivier took the envelop and looked at it. “What about Houndsan? He wasn’t involved in the plot.”

“No, he wasn’t. But the fuhrer wants him back in Central. If you take this position, then he also wants you to pick out your successor. He’s sent some profiles along for you to look through, of men and women who have been confirmed not to be involved in the plot, and who would be able to stand up against Drachma.” He passed those over to her as well. “…you don’t have to rush this decision, Olivier. But it is an option.”

An option? It was the best option she had been given. She took the files and the letter and set them beside her. Best option or not, rash decisions were not something that she should do. “Thank you, Alex,” she said, and for once she meant it.

“Are you going to tell the family?” he asked.

“I have to at some point.” She glared at him. “Not a word of this to anyone until I am ready, do you understand. So far, aside from the doctor, you’re the only one who knows!”

“Of course! I wouldn’t say a word. This is yours to handle. Just know that you have my support.”

She looked at the files sitting beside her, and at their finished meal. “…tell me what you know about these people,” she said, moving her plate to the side, and laying the folders out.

It was many hours later before Alex and Olivier exited the room. Alex took a room for the night, planning on heading back to Central in the morning. Oliver and Henschel drove back to Fort Briggs. She had the files and letter with her and felt strangely exhausted.

“Are… you alright, sir?” Henschel asked her.

“My brother is exhausting,” she replied. “I’ll be glad to get back to the fort.”

“Yes, sir.”

There wasn’t another word said on the drive, and Olivier felt herself missing both Miles and Buccaneer. They would have either been talking, or the silence would have been companionable. She gazed out the window and let her thoughts drift.

The offer of going to Northern Command weighted heavily on Olivier’s mind for the next week. It was the best solution available. She would be able to raise a child at Northern Command. There was a hospital, stores, housing, and schools. It would have the chance to be around other kids. She could still do her duty too, still keep tabs on Drachma, still defend, even if she wouldn’t be on the front lines of it any longer.

She still felt like she needed advice. She needed to talk this out with someone. She needed Miles.

She was edging on eight weeks now, and with the weather slowly warming, there wouldn’t be much more hiding it. And she knew that her men had taken note of her frequent trips to Doc, and the way that Doc kicked everyone out each time. She would have to let them know soon.

“Karley?”

“Sir!”

“Can you patch me into Miles?”

There was a pause. “I should be able to.”

“Can you set it up so that you can clear the room? I need to talk to him confidentially.”

“Yes, I should be able to do that, General.”

“Then do it.”

“Yes, sir!”

Karley was one of the best, and, although it took him a bit, he managed to get a secure line through to Miles.

“General Armstrong,” Miles voice sounded with slight surprise on the other end. “This is unusual.”

“If Mustang or his dogs ask, tell them it was official business that I’ve ordered you not to disclose.”

“Of course, sir,” he said, and she could hear the amusement in his voice. “What are you calling about?”

“…I need to make you aware of something. Something that needs to be kept confidential.” She paused, and he said nothing, clearly waiting on her. “I’m pregnant.” It was the second time she’d said it, and it was no easier. “It’s Buccaneer’s.”

“Sir? How—”

He wasn’t surprised to hear it was Buccaneers, that she knew. He had known about the times they had spent together. What was surprising him, she was sure, was the fact that Buccaneer was dead. “We spent the night before the Promised Day together.”

“Ah.”

“I’m eight weeks along.”

“I see.” He was silent for a moment, clearly weighing options in his head. “General… there is an option that I’ve seen Amestrians consider, although Ishvalans consider in an abomination.”

“I’m keeping the child, Miles. I won’t take his child out of this world.”

There was an exhalation of breath on the other side that sounded relieved. “Then you’ll have to leave Briggs. Unless there’s another option.”

“I’ve had an offer to take over Northern Command.”

There was silence on the other end. “…are you going to take it?”

“I’m not sure. I know I can’t raise a child at the Fort. My choices are to take the job at Northern Command, or to send the child home to my parents.”

“And which of those do you prefer?”

“Northern Command. That way I can still be with my child, and teach it about its father, and I won’t be abandoning my duties as a mother. Besides, this is the land that Buccaneer loved.”

“It sounds like your mind is made up, sir.”

“I needed to discuss it with someone who knew us both.”

“I understand. Both paths bring challenges. The one at Northern Command will be harder by far, because you will be trying to balance your work with your duties to your child. But I think it will be the most rewarding. However, whatever you choose, General, I’m sure that Ishvala will bless you further. If you need anything, my family and I will be on standby. Good luck in your decision.”

“Yes… that was my thought as well. Thank you, Miles.”

“Yes, sir.”

She hung up the phone then, taking a moment to compose herself. The conversation hadn’t brought up anything new or changed anything. But even she needed the sound advice of a friend at times.

The door to the room banged open, and she looked up sharply as Henschel, Karley, and Neil all flooded into the room.

“General, you have to take that job at Northern Command!” Henschel said. “Captain Buccaneer’s baby has to have a good life!”

Her eyes narrowed. “How do you know about that?”

All the men seemed to pale a little and took a step back.

“I saw the offer for Northern Command in your papers, sir, when I went to put them on your desk.” Henschel said. “And I overheard the conversation between you and your brother.”

“And I accidently saw the report on Doc’s desk and overheard a conversation.” Neil added.

“Communications hears about everything, sir!” Karley put in. “And I grew up around a lot of women. I recognized the signs.”

“Actually,” Neil said, “A lot of people have. At first we thought it was just grieving over the Captain. Most of us knew that you two were… close. But there’s been suspicion floating around for a bit. No one wanted to call you on it, though.”

Olivier leaned back in her chair and considered them. “…Most of the men know by now?” she asked.

The three men looked at each other, and then nodded.

Olivier sighed. “Well. It wasn’t going to be a secret for much longer anyway. Yes, I’m pregnant. Yes, it’s Captain Buccaneer’s. And yes, I’m considering the job at Northern Command.”

“No, sir, you have to take it,” Henschel said, and Oliver looked at him in surprise. “None of us want you to leave. We want you to stay in command. But we also want the captain’s baby to live. We want it to have a good life, and we want to be involved. The best option is for you to take over at Northern Command. We know that you’ll pick us out a good leader, and you know that if he’s not a good leader, we’ll reject him. We’ll keep Briggs and this country safe no matter what. And we’ll do it so Captain Buccaneer’s child will live.”

She considered all three of the men carefully. “And you say that the all the men agree with this?”

“Yes, sir.”

It was said confidently, and assuredly, and, after a moment, Olivier nodded. “Alright. Then that’s what will happen.”

Things moved quickly after that, and word spread fast around the fort. The men didn’t treat her differently, except to offer her a few more amenities here and there, even as her stomach grew. They nicknamed the child “Little Bear” and would offer greetings to both her and the child. Buy the time she was six months along, Briggs was ready to be handed over to it’s new commanding officer, a general who had proven herself in the west, had a good moral foundation, and was ready for the challenge that Briggs would bring. General Fasa was driven up to Briggs by Lieutenant Falman, and the handover of command was quickly completed.

When Olivier left Briggs, Falman drove her back to North City, and she could hear the cheers of her men follow them.

A house was already set up for them, her mother having come up to help prepare it for her. Olivier had gone to tell them when she was nine weeks along, and, although shocked, they had accepted it. The one question she had been asked that she hadn’t expected was when her father asked if she had loved Buccaneer. She had both surprised and not surprised herself by saying yes.

Falman was in invaluable asset to her during the next few months as her aide. He introduced her to the way command was run, helped her implement changes, and was keenly aware of her needs—which only grew as her belly did. Her mother, likewise, was a big help, more so then Olivier had imagined.

“Your father was in the military too, Olivier. I know how to deal with types like you and him.” She told her one day with a smile.

Olivier couldn’t argue with that.

But when the time came for the child to be born, Olivier was glad that her mother was there. It was one of the most difficult things that she had ever had to do, and it would have been worse if she was alone. It didn’t help that the baby was big, perhaps owing to both of their genetics, and her labor was intense and painful. It was almost a full day later when the baby was finally born, and she collapsed back, utterly spent.

“You have a boy, General!” the doctor said. “Would you like to see him?”

“Yes,” she said, although quite breathless, and the doctor brought him to her. He as heavy already, his eyes more the shape of his fathers, and right now blue. There was a dusting of black hair on his head, and one, singular, signature, curl. “Hello, my son,” she said. “Buccaneer Michael Armstrong. Welcome to the world.”

“He’s handsome,” her mother said. “Does he look like his father?”

“Yes,” Olivier replied. “He does. He’s perfect.” She gave his head a kiss. “You will grow up knowing the land your father loved. You will grow up with the benefits of being an Armstrong. You will grow up with hundreds of people who love you, just because they loved your father. You will be strong and proud to bear his name and mine. The world is yours, and you will grow into it. And I will never let you forget who your father is.”

They only allowed her to hold him for a few minutes before they took him to make sure that everything was alright with him, and to clean her up. Her mother took word to the crowd that had gathered in the waiting room, and she heard cheers go up.

Those were her men, cheering for her boy.

And she was going to be the best mother she could, both for him and for Buccaneer.

~*~*~

“Mama?”

“Yes, Little Bear?”

“Will you tell me about Papa again?”

“Have you finished your homework?”

“…No. But I need a break. Please!”

“…Come here. Sit on my lap, and I’ll tell about the time your papa rescued me from a river in winter.”

“Really?!”

“Yes, really. I could use a break from my papers too. Now, this happened in the first year I was in charge of Fort Briggs…”


	5. Day 5: Advice/Comfort/Bed-Time Story

**Moms Made Fullmetal 2020 Day 5**  
 **Word Count:** 2263  
 **Author:** Katie/Ally; RealityBreakGirl  
 **Rating:** G  
 **Characters:** Jean Havoc, Mama Havoc (Marie Havoc), Dad Havoc (Thomas Havoc) Rebecca Catalina  
 **Prompt:** Advice/Comfort/Bed-Time Story  
 **Summary:** Marie Havoc does a little reflecting on her boy Jean and the many trials and tribulations of his love life.

* * *

**Advice/Comfort/Bed-Time Story**

When her boy was young, he had thrived on bedtime stories. Jean would bound into bed, bouncing on it as he scrambled under the covers begging Marie to read him bedtime stories. He loved the adventure stories, the ones with the gallant heroes that saved the day, or worked with other good men to save the day, and in the end they got the girl, their true love. His eyes would shine at the idea of this perfect life, and he would swear to always protect her and his sisters. He had taken those stories to heart and worked hard to live up to those stories, trying to do the right thing, trying to work hard to help his family, and always being kind to and protecting the girls around him, and anyone who seemed weaker.

Honestly, it was enough to make a mama proud, with how hard her son tried to live like the gallant heroes he read about, and slowly those characteristics became part of him. By the time 7he started school, he was already a little charmer, always ready to help out whoever needed it, especially women and girls. He played rough and tumble with the other boys, of course, but he wasn’t afraid to trounce one (or be trounced himself) if he thought that he was doing the right thing.

But these stories had also made her poor son a romantic at heart, and that had led to heartbreak for him more than once over the years, with a few incidents standing out more then others amid all the crushes and broken hearts.

This first time her son had come home with a crush on a girl (and not his teacher), he hadn’t even realized that was what it was. Maria and Thomas had exchanged glances, knowing that was what was going on. He was seven, she was cute thing in his class, and he was always showing out around her, more so then he did for all the other girls. But it had backfired on him, the little girl turning up her nose at him, and being more interested in another little boy. That boy and Jean had gotten into a fight one day and Marie had needed to come to the school to pick him up. When she had asked him why he had gotten into a fight, he genuinely didn’t know why just that “he was getting’ on my nerves and made me so angry the way he was hangin’ ‘round Sophia!”

He may not have realized why it made him so angry, but she did, and it wasn’t the last time her Jean-Bean would find himself upset over girls.

When the hormones hit, and romanced bloomed in his heart more then before, there had been a line of crushes and minor heart breaks for a mama to fix. It was amazing what a slice (or three) of pie and some hot chocolate or cider could do to mend a boy’s heart. But crushes don’t last forever, and at some point she knew he’d experience his first true love. She just hoped that it really would be true love.

When he was fifteen it happened. He was convinced that he was in love. And honestly? Marie couldn’t say that he wasn’t. He and the girl, young Wilhelmina were sweethearts in school. They spent a few months flirting, and a year dating. He was head over heels, and absolutely smitten. As far as he was concerned, she hung the moon, and he devoted most of his free time and money towards her. He did his best to treat her right, even sacrificing some of the things he loved and he wanted to do just for her. He treated her like a queen, and Marie wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised if he asked her to marry him when they were a bit older.

As for Wilhelmina, Marie wasn’t as sure about her. Something about that girl seemed off, especially as they grew a little older and started to look more towards their futures.

And then, when he was sixteen, she broke it off with him, and his heart was shattered. Marie couldn’t say that she was surprised. But it hurt Marie to see her son so broken up. He cried for the first time in years, although he tried hard not to. Marie could see through it, though, and she knew. A mother always does.

“Why, mom?” he had said to her one night, a tremble in his deepening voice. “Why would she do that to me?”

“Oh, Jean-bean, I don’t know,” she said. “Some girls, they just like playing with boys’ hearts. And sometimes, no matter how much you wish it, it just isn’t to be. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“That’s not how it feels. I worked hard, Ma. I got her pretty things and I loved her, and I said if she’d just wait until graduation I’d marry her and then we could get jobs, and I’d work hard to get her what she wanted. But she just—she threw it all back in my face! She said it was too much and I was overbearin’ and—and--” His voice choked up, and Marie’s heart broke for him.

“There’s one out there for you, Jean, one much better than Wilhelmina. One that’ll appreciate you and all you do for her. You’ll meet her when the time is right.”

She had done her best to comfort him, but there was only so much to be done for a broken heart, even for a mother. He threw himself into working hard at the store, into hunting and fishing, into taking care of his brothers and sisters and cousins, into target practice. He dated around a little, trying to get over Wilhelmina, but nothing ever seemed to stick. He just seemed to mire down deeper in his ache, especially when he saw Wilhelmina dating other boys. And Marie noticed, for the first time, that his adventure stories on his shelves went untouched.

It worried her. They had always been so much a part of him. What would he do, if he lost faith in them?

But when a soldier came to talk to his class about joining the military, it was like when he had heard those bedtime stories as a child. He latched onto the idea of helping his country, protecting innocent people, and, of course, of getting the girl. He was such a romantic, her son.

And while she was encouraged that he had found something to live for again, she still worried. She especially worried when he sat down one day to talk to them about joining up after graduation.

“Are you sure, Jean? War is a dangerous place.”

“I’m sure, Ma,” he said, all of seventeen years old, and yet sounding confident. “It’s a great opportunity. I can travel the country, help people—all the things I’ve always wanted to do.”

“Your mother has a point, son,” Thomas said. “Those things are all well and good, but you can’t forget that it is the military. You will be called on to fight, and there are consequences to that.”

Jean frowned. “Yeah, I know that. I’ve heard Uncle Gregor and Uncle Darren talk about it. And some of the other men. And I’ve seen Old Man Muke’s leg.” His face turned serious, and Marie felt her heart ache. Where had her little boy gone? “But I think this is what’s best for me. I—I’m stuck here. Not that I don’t want to be here or love y’all or think you’re holdin’ me down or anything. I just… I just need to go for a while. I think it’ll be good for me. I think it’s what I need.”

Marie understood what he was saying, but every part of her wanted to keep him here with here. Thomas, though, nodded as if he understood, and she supposed that maybe he did. Even she had to admit that it was hard to get over your first love when you saw her practically every day and then saw her getting courted. They agreed, and it was like someone had lit his spark again.

As soon as he graduated from school, he was shipping out for the military. Marie had to admit, it seemed to be a good fit for him. He was thriving and, even though she had worried at first about all the girls he wrote home about, it seemed that her Jean was still a romantic, and still looking for love and not a quick fling. (Although she was sure he was having those too and stars help him if he got a girl pregnant). He was enthusiastic about his career, and he wrote her often about his work, the people he worked with, his friends, and the girls.

She had thought, at one time, that he had brought a girl home, one that he worked with. Marie had remembered her name from some of the letters he had sent her when he was at the academy, and she had turned into a lovely woman. She was quiet, but not meek by any turn of the word. Strong, capable, kind, polite, and very pretty too, with her short blonde hair. She was nothing like the women that he had gravitated towards before, ones that needed protecting and wanted to be fawned over. Marie thought that it would be a good match. But it was clear that she was in love with someone else, deeply so, and Marie had reluctantly let that go, no matter how much of a good match she thought it might have been.

The worst of his heartbreaks had come during the worst time of his life, and Marie knew that the two were entangled together. His paralysis and return home had been hard. It had been a huge hit to her son’s self-esteem and self-worth, leaving him in a depression no matter how much he tried to act as if it didn’t. When he told her that the woman he was dating had a part in injuring him, had used him to draw his team in, it explained why the whole situation had hit him so hard. Her heart had broken for her Jean, and she had feared that this last woman had not only taken his legs from him but had taken her boy’s romantic heart from him as well. He was no longer interested in talking up the pretty women who came in the store, although he was as chivalrous and polite as ever. But there was something in it that was gone.

A mother could only do so much. His heart heal on his own, if it ever would, and she feared that it wouldn’t.

Fortunately, it did, but it didn’t heal in the same way as before. Jean had always fallen in love hard and fast. That was just how her son’s heart had worked, and she had come to expect that. But as he sent her letters when he went back to Central for treatment, she began to notice how different they were. He no longer prattled on about this girl or that girl, but instead seemed be focus in on his worth, and the health and safety of his teammates. A few girls that weren’t related to work would show up here and there, but he never had much to say about them. If any girls were mentioned, it was either in a work for friendly context, although slowly, a name or two started to pop up a bit more than the others.

When Jean wrote to say that he was coming home for some leave, one day, and had someone he wanted to bring with him, well, her heart sored. Marie was more than happy to get to know this young woman whose name had come up again and again in her son’s letters. She had met her briefly before, but she hadn’t had the chance to get to know her. This time would be different. Rebecca Catalina was a dark-haired beauty, confident, and could stand toe to toe with anyone she came across. She was loud, fiery, and teased, and made no apologies for being who she was. She was the exact opposite of the type of women that Jean had chased after before.

She was everything she thought her son needed. He didn’t need a wilting flower or someone who needed to be rescued. He needed someone who could stand with him. He needed someone who could keep him on his toes. He needed someone could match him. This woman fit all of this and better than anyone else Marie had seen. And it was clear that she and Jean adored each other just by watching the way they instinctively gravitated towards each other. The family welcomed Rebecca in gladly, and she slid right in as if she had always belonged.

And Marie’s heart soared to see it.

“Hey, Ma?”

“Yes, son?” She paused in washing her dishes, and turned to look at Jean, who was fidgeting slightly, a habit he’d had since boyhood. Thomas, who was in the kitchen as well, looked up from his newspaper.

“Can I ask you and dad for some advice?”

She exchanged a look with Thomas. “Of course you can. Anytime.”

“…How do you propose to a girl?”

Marie couldn’t help the wide grin that spread on her face. It seemed that her son had finally found the true love of his story.


	6. Day 6: Graduation/Pride/Empty Nest

**Moms Made Fullmetal 2020 Day 6**  
 **Word Count:** 1211  
 **Author:** Katie/Ally; RealityBreakGirl  
 **Rating:** G  
 **Characters:** Pinako Rockbell, Winry Rockbell  
 **Prompt:** Graduation/Pride/Empty Nest  
 **Summary:** This was never the way that Pinako wanted to have an empty nest. A look at Pinako’s thoughts while Winry was missing.

* * *

**Graduation/Pride/Empty Nest**

Pride in her family was something that Pinako Rockbell had in spades. Oh, she didn’t always show it, but she had it nonetheless. She had pride in where she had come from, her hard-working parents and grandparents. They were rough and tumble people, but they were hard workers that had instilled that into her, as well as a wanderlust. Few people in her family settled down where their ancestors had been, to busy moving forward with trades and jobs of their own. Pinako herself had left her family to pursue surgery and automail, forging her own path. It had led to many ups and downs, but she had never once not felt pride in her roots or in her accomplishments. And when she had a family of her own, well, that pride had spread to them as well.

She had been proud of what she and her husband had built with Rockbell Automail. The long hours in learning their craft, in getting their certifications, in setting up shop and establishing their reputation, it was all something to be proud of. She had been proud of her son, Yuriy and his drive to help people, of his hard work in the university, of his dedication. She had been proud of his wife, Sarah, too, accepting her as her own daughter, and gladly showing pride in her accomplishments as well. That dedication had sent them to Ishval, and while she had been angry at their deaths, she had been proud of them, nonetheless.

And she was proud of Winry. Oh, she was so very proud of Winry.

Winry, her granddaughter, who had moved forward even after such tragedy in her short life. She was talented, brilliant, and always moving forward. She was kind-hearted even if she was a but rambunctious at times—but honestly, it was nothing compared to her own young days. But Winry had a bright and creative mind and was constantly striving to learn more and better herself and her skills. She was the best combination of her parent’s dedication and Pinako’s own drive.

Sometimes Pinako wondered if she ought to have sent Winry to a university. She was certainly bright enough to, and they had more than enough money to be able to afford it. Winry could use that time to learn and find herself, to learn in a formal environment, to have a graduation and get that degree, much as Yuriy and Sarah had done. Pinako herself had apprenticed and taken tests for her certification, and that was still a viable option, although the degrees were becoming more and more the norm.

Winry had known, though, that university was an option, and that wasn’t the path that Winry she had chosen. She had chosen Pinako’s own path of apprenticeships, the decision made on her own in Rush Valley. It had mean that Pinako was alone, for a time, but that was alright. The suddenness of it hadn’t bothered Pinako. That was the way of her family, to strike out on your own to further your own path. The house did feel rather empty, but Winry was off learning and improving, and so Pinako was satisfied. She could continue in her “empty nest” for a bit and be proud of the good work her granddaughter was doing.

But she hadn’t expected her empty nest to continue like this, though.

She had known for years that Winry stood a chance of getting mixed up with the military. It was thanks to Edward’s involvement with it, largely. She didn’t blame Edward for that, of course. She blamed the military for setting up a system that would take in a twelve-year-old boy as a soldier. But it did mean that her granddaughter was involved and Pinako knew that there was no separating her from Ed and Al. She had just prayed that Winry’s involvement wouldn’t lead to problems involving the military.

She was wrong.

She held the crumpled piece of paper in her hand, the official letter that had been delivered to her by a soldier. She had seen the envelop that he was handing her, known that fancy paper and the watermarked seal, know what kind of a letter she was getting. She had two in there, one with Yuriy’s name, the other with Sarah’s. She had feared it was for Ed, or maybe even Al. Somehow, this letter letting her know that her granddaughter was last seen in the hands of a known murder and was now officially declared missing felt even worse. She loved those three kids, but Winry was her granddaughter, and was supposed to be well away from anything like this.

Then again, so were Yuriy and Sarah.

When the soldier had delivered it to her and she had read it, she had felt the Pantheress she had once been known as rise up in her again. The only reaction she had to this was anger, out and out, and she knew she scared the soldier witless with the way he took off.

The anger had worn off quickly, though, and now she sat here at her table, not sure how long she had been here. The sun was coming in long through the windows, and she had yet to turn any lights on. She hadn’t been able to move. Spread out before her were the letters that informed her of Yuriy and Sarah’s deaths, and now she spread out the one that told her of Winry’s disappearance beside them. All of them were wrinkled, and two of them were tear stained.

The implications of this hit her like a ton of bricks, and she bent her head over the table.

She was alone now, and rather then the content and hopeful (if a little lonely) alone she had been before, this was a deep, grief-ridden alone. Her husband was long dead. Her son and his wife were too. And her granddaughter was taken by a murder while under the watch of the military. She didn’t even have may friends anymore, not at her age. All she had was Den, and he was an older dog.

She was alone.

Her son was dead.

His wife was dead.

And her granddaughter was likely dead too.

It was like that thought turned loose her mind and terrible and awful thoughts about what could have happened to Winry played through her head. Thoughts of her body being brought to her in horrible condition or of her body never being found went around and around in her brain, one horrible scenario after another. She didn’t know which would be worse—having a body and knowing how Winry was killed, or not having one and it being left up to her imagination.

She supposed it would depend on how Winry was killed—on what that monster did to her!

She tried to reign her imagination back in. There as the chance that Winry was still alive, that she would return home. There was the chance that Pinako would have her granddaughter back.

But it was so slim. So very, very slim.

Pinako’s head bowed over the letter she had just smoothed out, grief and worry warring for dominance within her, as this letter quickly gained the same tear stains as the others.


	7. Day 7: Change/New Beginnings/Farewell

**Moms Made Fullmetal 2020 Day 7**  
 **Word Count:** 1308  
 **Author:** Katie/Ally; RealityBreakGirl  
 **Rating:** G  
 **Characters:** Sheska, Sheska’s Mother  
 **Prompt:** Change/New Beginnings/Farewell  
 **Summary:** Sheska’s mother reflects on a life lesson she tried to teach her daughter—that in every farewell, there is a new beginning. She knows that Sheska will have a wonderful new beginning even as she gives her daughter her last farewell  
 **Author’s Note:** I have worked in some personal headcanons about Sheska and her family in this story. The most important one to know is that I headcanon that “Sheska” is her first name and she goes by it because her last name is very long and very hard to most Amestrians. I also headcanon that her family came from an area near the Drachman boarder that was independent a couple of generations or so back, but was taken over by Amestris.

* * *

**Change/New Beginnings/Farewell**

Change was inevitable. It happened all the time in life. Some was good, some was bad, and some depended on your perspective. But change still happened, and no matter the change, you needed to live through it. You needed to push on, adapt, and survive. You needed to see the new beginnings that came with each farewell. That was something that Ruta “Ruth” Brzęczyszczykiewicz had tried to impart to her daughter, Sheska. Change had been a constant in their lives from the beginning. Some were good, positive changes, like better places to live or better jobs. Some were hard, negative changes, like loss or her own failing health. And some changes were neither good nor bad, but simply change, like graduations, or going new places. Those changes depended on how you reacted to them.

Ruth had always tried to stay positive, to teach Sheska to find the good in the changes, and to always be kind. Life was full of farewells, but with those often came new beginnings, if you looked for them. She had tried to teach her daughter how to look for the new beginnings in the farewells, although Sheska had trouble with it at times. Her Sheska was a ball of nerves, and Ruth had calmed her down and talked her through more then one panic or anxiety attack by asking Sheska to focus on the good that could come from things. Sheska tried hard to do the best that she could in remembering this, and Ruth appreciated it. She had appreciated it even more over the years as her health had failed and Sheska stepped up to be a caregiver and support to her mother.

But it couldn’t last forever.

Ruth had been trying to prepare her Sheska for this change for along time. Of all the changes that Sheska had experienced in her life, loss was always the hardest for her. This loss, Ruth’s own death, wasn’t going to be an easy one for Sheska by any means. But while Ruth was worried about how her Sheska would take this, she wasn’t as worried as she had been previously. Because she could see a new beginning forming for her daughter, even as her own final farewell drew near.

Ruth had always been the only one looking after her Sheska. Her father had died when Sheska was just a baby, and most of their other family was gone as well. It had been the two of them, alone, and Ruth had made the decision to move further into Amestris with Sheska, managing to make her way to Central City eventually. There would be better opportunities there, she was sure. It wasn’t easy to raise a child alone and find work that made them enough money to live on, but Ruth had done the best she could. Of course, it had only gotten harder when she had realized just how gifted Sheska was. But Ruth had been determined not to waste that gift and had taken little Sheska to everything she could manage to help her daughter learn and experience as much as she could. The library had been a common stop, but anytime there was something free or very cheap that she could take her daughter to, she had. She loved to see the light Sheska’s eyes shine as she experienced or learned new things.

It wasn’t all easy, especially as Sheska grew and her giftedness led to some trouble fitting in with other children her own age. But Ruth was proud of her daughter. She had persevered through all of her trials. Even when Ruth’s own health had begun to fail, Sheska had panicked a little, but she had stepped up to help care for her mother. She had worked hard to try to get her to a decent hospital when it became apparent that Ruth’s care was too much for Sheska to handle alone. A lucky encounter had allowed her Sheska to put Ruth into a better place, and also given her a job—a job she still had, and a good one too!

Ruth was so proud of her Sheska.

And now? She could see new beginnings for her Sheska. The past couple of years Sheska had blossomed while Ruth could feel herself fading. Things hadn’t been the same since the day of the eclipse, Ruth could tell. It had set something in motion that she knew was going to end her life. But she kept it to herself, watching her Sheska instead. Sheska had made friends, true friends, and that thrilled Ruth. She brought her friends by, introducing Ruth to many people. There was even one young man that kept showing up with Sheska, and Ruth could tell that the two cared deeply for one another, or would soon, anyway.

Her Sheska finally had everything. She had a stable job. She had friends. She had a young man. She had her books. There was only one thing left to set her free from.

“My Sheska…”

“Mom!” Sheska’s teary face looked back at her. “I’m here mom!”

“I know,” Ruth said. “I want you to know, that I am so very proud of you.”

“I know, mom,” There were tears in Sheska’s voice. “But I need you to stay with me, okay? I—I’m not ready to be alone.”

Ruth smiled, and reached her hand out to pat Sheska’s cheek. “But you are not alone. You have so many wonderful friends, my Sheska. You have that kind boss of yours, and his two sisters that look like him. You have the older woman and her little girl. You have the two girls you work with in your office. You have that polite young woman who always has guns on her, and the man who looks at her with undying love in his eyes. You have the man that smells like smoke, and the one who pretends he does not care when he does. And there is the one that knows almost as much as you do as well. And the pretty young lady with the dark short hair, and the young man with all the brothers and sisters. And you have your young man, who fixed my radio.”

She smiled at her daughter again. “Sheska, even if I’m not here like this, you are not alone. You have been richly blessed by all the friends that you have. You won’t be alone.” She smiled and let the smile reach her eyes, although her hand was feeling heavy and she had to lower it. Sheska caught it in her own hands and gave in a squeeze. “I know that they will take good care of you.”

“But I need you too! I don’t want to say goodbye to you Mom! You’re my world!”

“And you are mine, my Sheska,” her voice was getting lighter. “But it’s time for you to find a new world.”

She could see Sheska crying, her tears harder, and she gave her daughter’s hands a squeeze.

“Remember what I taught you. In every farewell, there is a new beginning. Change happens in life—its if we choose to dwell on the farewell or the new beginning that matters the most.”

“I’ll remember,” Her Sheska was sobbing now, and Ruth hated to bring her so much pain. But it was simply the way it was. “I’ll always remember.”

Ruth closed her eyes, and her lips curved up in a gentle smile. “Good, my Sheska,” her voice was very quiet now, but she knew her daughter heard every word. “Your new beginning will be wonderful.”

Ruth felt strangely light then. Something was happening. She wasn’t sure what, but it was. All she knew, was that she was glad she had gotten out her last farewell to her daughter.

Now it was time for a new beginning for her as well.


End file.
